Creating a video

As I continue to explore the use of technology in classroom I am confronted with obstacles that become time consuming and hinders progresss. In an effort to integrate technology in the class I have created an assignment for students to make a webisode of calculating surface area and volume of a cylindrical container. At first students and I were very excited about this new endeavour. However, as we continue to use the technological devices that are available to us such as the school camera and the laptops we realized that it was as easy as we had thought. (In fact it would have been easy if we had the most up to date hardware and software available)Some problems the student encountered with the acer laptops was that once they recorded their videos and uploaded it there was no volume. Seems like the sound cards in some of the laptops were defective. After some investigation one of the students used a headphone to see if the volume would work. It worked with the headphones and then when the head phone was removed then the laptops speakers started to work. (That was weird, I thought and so did the students) Other issues making our videos resulted from the cameras we had available. The images weren't sharp and when students zoomed in on their written work instead of the video becomming clearer it became more distorted and elligible. Also, when zooming in on the speaker or an object the person voice gets distorted. I must admit that students observed enthusiasm at creating the videos have drastically reduced to the complications they are experiencing. It has also led me to question whether I should be trying to incorporate more creating learning videos because of the amount of time it takes to capture, edit, and publish footage of their learning. Considering how much of the curriculum content I should be covering over the limited time that I have to do it. Today all the students should have been completing their final cut and by the end of the time, not one group was finished. Though this may seem like a rant it is not. I am just journaling my observations and experiences in the process of creating 21st century learner in the 21st century classroom. Journery Educationa Technology ....... To Be Continued!

Keeping journeyedutech alive!

Today I introduced the idea to my students to create a webisode for solving volume of a cylinder. The idea is for students to create an educational video that we can use to demonstrate how to solve volume of a cylinder. Students were definately engaged in their small groups and I could tell they were having fun! As I continue to put my studies into practice I would like to see the students using their devices to enrich their learning. Hopefully in a couple weeks I will have some awesome videos of students demonstrating their knowledge of volume and surface area of a cylindrical container. I am keeping journeyedutech alive by allowing students to explore the use of technology in the class as tool to develop knowledge content as well as a tool to seek out knowledge. I am excited to see the students engaged.......To Be Continued

BYOD peel google search on my not so smart blackberry torch device

Eager to get on board with BYOD peel to send an email to my students. Trying to find the link on google  from  my blackberry torch but cant. Is it my phone? Is it the website?

JourneyEdutech continues....

Why Bother?: Gary Kern at TEDxWestVancouverED

As I watch this video I begin to think about J. Krishnamurti's book titled Education and the Significance of Life. I see many parallels with self actualization and the "right education" as discussed in Krishnamurti's book.

Watch this video post a comment to this blog. Do you know of Krishnamurti's ideology? Share your perspective..

Whatever Happened to Joy in Education?: Dean Shareski at TEDxWestVancouv...

Bring joy into teaching for the sake of a happy learning environment!

Experimenting with the Hipstreet Flare 4.0

So, I bought a cheap tablet from Walmart to experiment with for BYOD. I didn't own a device for myself so I thought... why not get one since students may be bringing their own to class coming Fall 2013. Well, my first tablet experience was not good. The review on the particular tablet I bought indicated that the machine was faulty. Hipstreet tablet received fairly poor reviews. After reading the critiques, I wanted to experiment with the device for myself so I can come to my own conclusion.

Well my experience was not good with the device. I experienced some deficiency when try to type  information for my blog. The text box gets covered by the pop-up keyboard on the screen  when your trying to type. This was frustration because I could only see one line as I typed which made it hard for me to read over what I had written. This was definitely a disadvantage that could hinder students learning in the classroom using this tablet. Another problem which was indicated in the reviews that is similar to my experience was the tablet kept dropping the WI-FI signal. Wearing my teacher's hat. I began to consider the devices use in the classroom. I decided to return the device back to Walmart and save my money for a much more expensive device that I would be able to use comfortably at home and in the classroom.

As I continue this journey educational technology (JourneyEduTech), I am becoming familiar with how to integrate technology in the class for 21st century teaching and learning.

I can say with certainty that the Hipstreet tablet isn't powerful enough to handle multiple open screens, streaming music or video, or playing games simultaneously. Even the camera quality is awful. As one of the critiques said in an Amazon post "you pay for what you get", however I am not ready to part with my $115 on something that doesn't meet my basic need to surf the web and listen to music at the same time without the system slowing dramatically. I will be getting a refund!

Post a comment about your tablet experience. What brand do you possess? Also, provide some positives things about your device that makes it suitable for the classroom environment as well as some things that could be improved upon.

Teaching and Learning in a Digital World .

Here is a link about a workshop taking place at Castlebrook H.S. in the Peel District School Board for teachers about 21st century teachers and learners. They're look for presenters for this workshop on Aug 21st and 22nd, 2013. Check out the YouTube video. Click the link! http://youtu.be/GoG8kdnm444

Impact of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative on teachers and students in 21st century classrooms

Here is a research paper written about the possible impacts of Bring Your Own Device in the classroom. Take a read. Make a comment!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ql3VztR5oD6j6VwTxrlrjAHSr3GNkZf9ZOmgSRALfGU/pub

21st century learners in 21st century classrooms: Is Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) the key?

The Peel District School Board have implemented an initiative for students to begin bringing their personal devices from home to school as part of Bring Your Own Device initiative. The boards goal is to provide all school with Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) by September 2013 so that students can use their device to access Wi-Fi as part of the learning environment. When you visit the Peel District School Board website at www.peelsb.com the first thing you see is their publications about the BYOD initiative. I encourage bloggers to take a look at their publications and blog here about it. Post your comments, concerns, or anything you would like to share about the idea to have students bring and use their personal device in the school environment. Do you think this is the right move by the board? Please share!

OpenCourseWare.... A thing of the past, present, or future?

https://moodle.yorku.ca/moodle/pluginfile.php/470281/mod_forum/attachment/325801/Open%20Educational%20Resources.pdf This article written by Tom Caswell, Shelley Henson, Marion Jensen, and David Wiley suggest that opencourseware maybe the solution to provide education for all. Based on the article Open Educational Resources, "Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that everyone has the right to education."  I agree that universal education should be afforded to all, however, opencourseware should be able to be accessed by everyone for it to be universal. So, one barrier to universal access is the availability of Internet for everyone to access. Currently, as far as I know not everyone have access to Internet and those who may benefit the most from opencourseware for educational purpose are more concerned with their basic necessities such as food, shelter, and clothing rather than accessing the Internet to see what a particular course consist of. So, although opencourseware may have had the potential to be a transformative platform for individuals to improve their lives. Its not! 

Also, based on the above mentioned article there was not a lot of educational institutions that participated in opencourseware initiative. This could be problematic because only particular interest are being promoted. A variety of institutions not just university but colleges and trade schools should be involved in posting their course syllabus and instructional material online for individuals interested in learning about a variety of different professions, trade, or things to gain access. With the small pool of opencourseware (OpenContent) available it can't have the universal status as the article would want you to believe.

When comparing MOOCs to OpenContent, I think MOOCs have much more transformative benefits in society than OpenContent because of the difference with the interaction with the information and content in a course. However, I reiterate until the cost of accessing the web becomes affordable for people who can`t afford to attend formal schools and want to improve their lives is able to access these educational tools universal education will not be achieved. 

  

MOOCs - Massively Open Online Courses - What is that?

http://chronicle.com/article/What-Professors-Can-Learn-From/139367/ check out this link for information about Massively Open Online Courses.

Topics to think about

Could this be the way for the future of education? Free online courses that anyone can participate in? What impacts will these types of courses have on tradition forms of schooling? Who stands gain more from these types of courses?

I need your help!

Leave me your responses to the questions above. Also refer me to any literature that may be helpful to get more information on the topic.

21st Century Learning Skills

The three questions listed below were created by classmates of course: EDUC5860 at York University around 21st Century Learning Skills for students. 

1. How has technology changed students?
2. Do you think it is important to socialize, experiment, and fail with technology?
3. Do you think educators effectively promote the development of 21st century skills? 

Here are my responses to the questions above. Feel free to post your own comments or feedback to my response or your answers to the questions above.

I think technology has changed students in many ways. They are becoming consumers at a much earlier age than previous generations. They are much more knowledgeable about new software release and apps for digital devices than many adults. Students rely more on their devices to find answers rather than searching for information in a book. Their device may take the place of multiple devices that individuals in the past may have possessed. For example, a smart phone takes the places or incorporates many devices of the past and makes it portable such as T.V on your smart phone, music, gps, calculator, notebooks, audio video recorder, camera for capturing images, texting, emailing, and oral communication. These are some example of how technology is changing students.

It is important to experiment, socialize and fail with anything no just technology. Learning is a process that incorporates experimenting. Experimenting is the part of learning which helps to figure out how something works. Socializing is key to communicate what you do and don't understand and to ask for assistance for what you need help with or to consolidate what you know, as well as to share with others. The saying goes "we learn from our mistakes." So, failure is apart of the learning process which provides students/people with experiences to improve on for future successes.

Promoting 21st century learning skills depends on where the educator is located and the types of technology that educator have to use. It also depends on that educators ability and comfort level with the types of technology 21st century learners are using. I believe in areas where there are technology available and educators are trained to use it effectively with their students it will be used. However, where technology is not available at school or at home for some students then 21st century learning skills are not or wont be promoted.

When I think about the notion of 21st century learners I always wonder which group of people in society are being referring to. Is it referring to students who are from middle to upper class because seldom do we consider the "have nots" who are students living in low socio-economic areas where their parent(s) may not be able to afford the types of technology devices or Internet access necessary to meet some of the criteria of a 21st century learner. I also think about the kids on reserves in Ontario and other provinces and territories across Canada, as well as refugee parent(s) and kid(s) who relocated to Canada because of war or political unrest in the countries they are from.

Presenting the Net Generation a.k.a NetGeners, GenY, and Millennials

Here are my two video using www.screencastomatic.com to present my research on the #netgen. So far, I must say my Journey Educational Technology has been empowering. The amount of tools that I am learning about and the level of interaction I have with them is inspirational for me to keep learning more.

Take a look at both video for the complete presentation and post your feedback. Below I have a list of reference used for this research.

Educational Technology Journey going strong! Spending the week researching about net generation. What is the premise for the term coined for individuals born after 1980. This is the generation also known as Millennials or GenY. The off springs of GenX in developing countries such as Canada, U.S.A, United Kingdom are disrupting the order within the social structure with their technological know how. They have a leverage on baby boomers and Gen X because they are born during the period of the internet revolution. The pervasiveness of technology that has saturated their world compares to no other time before. They have the upper hand in these times. Babies are introduced to technology at a much younger age than ever before. Technology grow with them, adapting at every stage in their development to suit their needs. The idea of "doing without" does not exist in the net generation mind around technology. Taking away their devices may cause anxiety and depression. This generation #netgen, genY, or mellinais do not know what its like living without some form of technology around.

Discussions:
What are your thoughts and ideas about the information presented on the #netgen? Do you consider yourself apart of the net generation even if you are born before 1980? If yes, why?

Share:
Share some of your experiences you've had with an individual born after 1980 and your observation of how they interact with technology. Then reflect on your life at the age of the individual you discussed and compare your experience with technology at the time. Consider the kinds of technology you interacted with, the amount of time, and how you used it.

Technology used in education

I created a wiki for educational technology journey. Check the link journeyedutech.pbworks.com

One small step for man. One giant step for Canadians